3: Terminology
Term | Description |
|---|---|
The Actors - These are the who i.e. the people and systems that participate in the process | |
Applicant | Entity that requests the registration of claims in a registry |
Subject | An entity obliged or entitled to registration, or about which a claim is made |
Registrar | An entity that is authorized to register, in a registry, claims submitted by an applicant and to issue a credential proving the registration |
Operator | A registrar or a staff of a registrar who is processing the request of an applicant |
Issuer | Entity that creates a credential for one or more entities |
Asserter | An entity that asserts a claim |
The Core Process & Journey - These terms describe the action, the goal, and the rules of the registration process itself | |
Registration | Process through which an entity gets claims recorded in a registry and a credential proving the registration, in exchange of providing some requirements |
Service | Name given to a registration, or to a combination of registrations which can be undertaken simultaneously, by the entity(ies) in charge of the registration process |
Regulation | Normative text (law, decree, deed, decision, etc.) issued by a public entity |
Rule | Any regulation, or part of a regulation, which creates for specific subjects an obligation or a right to register, and defines, for each category of subjects, the results and requirements of the registration |
Requirement | Information (i.e. claims and credentials) and fees which must be provided in a registration process. Requirements may vary according to each subject |
Result | The result of a registration is usually a credential (sometimes called: certificate, license, permit, card, etc.) proving the registration, in addition to the recording of information in a registry |
Determinant | A determinant is an attribute, defined in the rule, used as a filter to determine/trigger if (1) an entity is subject to a registration and/or (2) what requirements this entity must provide to register |
UC - Use Case | A specific situation in which a product/Building Block or service could potentially be used |
The Data & The Documents - related to the information collected, verified, and issued | |
Entity | A thing with distinct and independent existence, such as a person, organization, or device |
Claim | An attribute asserted by an entity, about itself or another entity |
Attribute | A property (data, information) relating to an entity |
Credential | A paper or electronic document created by an issuer and displaying one or more claims about one or more entities |
Scope | A set of claims and/or credentials required for a registration |
The Digital Components & Systems - the technical systems and building blocks that make digital registration possible | |
Registry | A paper-based or electronic database (centralized or decentralized, i.e. blockchain) where claims are stored and can be consulted |
MCTS | Mother and Child Tracking System - Example Use Case to validate the system functionality |
Comments
For rules, shouldn't there be rules applicable to the registrar/entity receiving and processing a registration to provide the needed credential requested by the applicant?
The system must ensure mutual accountability between:
The registrant/applicant - who submits data or applies for a credential.
The registrar/registration authority - who receives, verifies, records, and issues credentials or registration outcomes.
If rules are only defined for the applicant, the framework misses the institutional side of compliance, quality control, and service delivery obligations. In the DPI architecture, both sets of rules should be codified in the registration process logic so that digital systems can automate compliance and enforce accountability.
In addition to data & document descriptions, it will be good to include relationship. As attributes look at internal properties of an entity and relationships look at the complementary property links between entities. This will then clarify the links between entities such as a registrar and applicant, vs a registrar and subject, especially if the subject is different from the applicant due to factors such as age/health/legal restrictions for example.